As I prayed with Murphy tonight at bedtime, she concluded her God-bless list with, 'God bless the cockadoo (a new, favorite nonsense word of hers) and, YOU, Mama!' When Carter prayed, she asked God not to let Mommy or Daddy or Murphy or Baby Wright die. These sweet prayers followed one of my more challenging evenings as a parent, but back to the beginning...
I had high hopes for this Monday when it began with all three girls sleeping until after 8:00 AM. Then Carter and Murphy made it through breakfast with nary a harsh word, Carter went on to have a great morning at school, and Murphy had her most sweet side on full display. They spent the gorgeous afternoon outside and set up a much anticipated lemonade stand with friends. They played well together right up until dinner. In the midst of it all, Baby Wright had an equally good day taking great naps and being content to watch all the goings-on around her.
As dinnertime was coming to an end, things started taking a turn straight towards crazy town. Baby Wright was done with Bumbo-sitting and self-entertaining and ready for some focused attention. The big girls began mildly bickering and generally bouncing off the walls. As the day began slowly coming undone, I must admit that I did, too. We wrapped up dinner (Carter finishing hers and earning a brownie bite; Murphy eating pineapple, one bite of chicken, and two bites of a quesadilla), and headed  towards the bathtub. I gave Baby Wright a quick bath and then went to feed her while the big girls played together in the tub.
Splashing, screaming, and squealing were the sounds I heard coming from the bathroom as I nursed the baby and tried to help her relax for bedtime. At one point, the sounds became so loud and indiscernible that I headed into the bathroom, baby attached, to discover the girls were spitting large amounts of water out of their mouths at each other. I gave a stern warning and a few idle threats. As I was trying to wrap up nursing, I could hear that the energy level had amped back up. I then began verbally policing the girls through the wall. I was getting angry. And anxious. And irritated. And more angry. As I sat there, feeding the baby and listening to all the insanity, I made a decision: when I got the girls out of the tub, I was going to give each of then a spanking for their naughty behavior.
(Now, I have to deviate here for a second. I am not a spanker. Sure, I've swatted a fanny a few times, but spanking is not my go-to method of discipline. It may be for you, and that is fine. I don't judge your style of parenting, so please don't judge mine.  I aim to be deliberate in my parenting and intentional in making every consequence teach something. I cannot seem to reconcile what exactly I am teaching my children by hitting them when they don't do what I want them to do.)
Once I'd made this decision, I called my husband. I knew that I was angry and needed a second opinion from my Partner in Parenting as to whether or not a spanking was a rational and fair consequence for their behavior. He didn't answer. I kept nursing the baby, listening to the sounds from the bathroom, and becoming more and more irritated. I began to get an actual plan for how the spankings would take place, and I called my husband again. He still didn't answer. I tucked the baby into bed and headed into the bathroom, fully prepared to go through with my plan.
I was short and curt and demanding as I instructed the girls to get their hair washed and climb out of the tub: so much so that Carter reminded me that I was not saying 'please.' I wrapped them up in towels and combed out their hair. I lined my little lovelies up on the bathroom floor, sat down on their level, and I changed my mind.

They're good girls.

They stick together.

They love each other.

They make each other laugh.

Here's the thing: they were naughty, very naughty. 

(But doesn't leaving two already hyper children unattended in the bathtub 

just set up the perfect situation for silliness to get out of control?) 

Is there ever a time that spanking them may be appropriate and even necessary? 

Perhaps. But this was not that time. 

Were there consequences for the naughtiness? 

Yes. Early bedtime, no books, and no snuggles.

I don't have all the answers. Tonight, I trusted my intuition and chose not to respond out of anger or frustration. Like all Mommies, I'm learning as I go and am finding that I need as much grace as they do.

I'm glad I changed my mind. 

{God bless the cockadoo}

The Sweetest Things, Q1

As I sat down to begin writing, I took a minute browse over my past few posts. It was only then that I realized how absent I've been from blogging. One lonely entry exists in February and the same for March. No wonder I've been feeling the writing itch lately. Fortunately, the lack of writing has been due, at least in part, to my time being completely filled with life's greatest joys.
The Sweetest Things for the first quarter of 2013...

1. Breaking Bad... am I embarrassed that the number one item on my list on non-material things is a TV show focused on the production of methamphetamine? No, no I am not. OH. MY. GOSH. this show may be the best thing to have happened to Lindsay and me as a couple (childbirth excluded) in the past few years. If you're a blog follower or a real life friend, you know that he and I tend to do some of our best bonding over TV shows. It started a thousand years ago with The OC and My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiancé and continued with The Office and Mad Men. I watched the first few episodes of Breaking Bad on my IPhone when Lindsay was traveling and immediately knew that he would be hooked. We plowed through the first four seasons on the weekends in February and March after all the girls were in bed. Hypotheses and opinions about Walt, Jesse, Skylar, Gus, and Hank began to permeate our conversations and Google searches. We have just begun the fifth and final season and will be sad to see our new obsession come to an end. (And are already thinking ahead to our next fix... Homeland, perhaps?)
   
2. Puppy Love...Addie, a rescued Beagle, stole my heart when Lindsay and I chose her from a shelter in Grand Prairie, Texas in 2004. When he and I married, she joined Sutton, Lindsay's schnoodle, to become our first 'kids.' Once we had actual kids, however, my time (and patience) for the doggies greatly dissipated. The doggies were more often found resting their crate or playing in the fenced in backyard than receiving any real attention from their mom and dad. Then, last spring, after having a growth removed from her mouth, we learned that Addie had cancer, and the vet suggested that she'd only live for about three more months. We decided that since we were expecting yet another actual child and planning a big move, our family would not provide the best pet home. So, Lindsay found a great new family for Sutton in Colorado where he's getting all the love and attention that hyper little buddy can handle. Addie went to live with my parents for what we thought would be a brief stint of 'hospice' care. Something about country life really agreed with her, though, and she not only survived but thrived while exploring the open spaces. Over the early months of this year, Addie spent several long weekends with us. We loved having her around, and Carter even taught her a few new tricks. She finally did lose her battle with cancer just a week ago, but we're so grateful for the quality time we got to spend with her and the perfect, loving home she had for her final months.
   
3. Visitors...when we lived in Denver, I loved the frequency of our houseguests, and I hoped that when we moved to Charlotte we'd still find our guest room occupied. Over New Year's, one of our favorite families from Denver stopped for an overnight as they became the road trip back to Colorado from Virginia. The house was full {seven kids in total!} and so were our hearts. The fellas caught a Tarantino matinee; we gals did plenty of gabbing; and the kids, of course, picked right up where they'd left off.
   
   Then over MLK weekend, while the hubby was slumming it in a luxury Mexican resort, one of my best-besties left Pittsburgh with her own tiny gal in-tow for a girls' only weekend. We laughed and ate and wined and chatted for three days straight, and I can't begin to say how excited I am that in just a few months they (along with her three fellas) will be an afternoon's drive away. 
   
   K and Wrighty Pie.
   
   Second cousins now. BFF's for life.
   The next long holiday weekend brought yet another visitor in the form of Ms. Wendy. When her hubby had suggested presenting her with a visit as her Christmas gift, I was both honored and super excited. She left her boys behind in Denver and just settled right in to our house of ladies. Wendy has a calmness, a serene nature that is hard to explain, but her presence was refreshing and soothing. Whether in the midst of kid-wrangling or over a ladies' lunch at Dean and Decluca, I loved every moment with her. 
4. The Murph...if you catch Lindsay and me together and inquire about Murphy you are likely to hear, 'She's terrible' (from me) and 'She's hilarious' (from him.) Who's right? Both of us. Murphy continues to challenge and frustrate and baffle me on an hourly basis, but she also ignites genuine hilarity almost as frequently. She pronounces her 'Ls' like 'Ys' and when I was trying to wipe her nose during a recent cold, she sharply suggested that I needed to 'Yeave-a my boogers a-yone!' When I asked her to please keep her thumb-sucking for bedtime, she whipped that thumb out of her mouth, and squealed, 'But it tastes so goooood! It tastes yike sugar!' and then popped it right back in. She's becoming less and less shy, and when a new face asked her for her name, rather than replying 'Jelly Samich' as she would have a few months ago, she proudly stated, 'Murphy Gace Wew-e-win!' She moved to a big girl bed in January, and I had been planning to hold potty training boot camp over spring break. Then, a couple weeks before, she asked to wear panties, and potty trained herself. Literally. I've done nothing. That's Murph... she'll do what she wants when she wants on her own little Murphy time. And, the whole house (especially poor Carter) is well aware of the wrath of the Murph should we try to impose our own will upon her's. 
   
5. The Tiny One...over the first quarter of this year, Baby Wright has gone from being a wobbly little newborn to an almost sitting up baby. She's the best. Really. She's a champ as both a sleeper and eater and is completely content to hang out in her Bumbo while her big sisters are running circles around her. Her disposition is completely pleasant and cheerful most all the time. I love taking her along on errands where strangers are pretty smitten with her, too. She grins from ear to ear at everyone who speaks to her yet has some innate ability to make every person feel like that smile is just for them. Folks often comment on her small size and her likeness to a real-life doll. After having baby with reflux and another with colic, Baby Wright is a mommy's dream come true. 
   
6. My Bestie...Carter Lilly. She's a four and three-quarter year old who's as eager to please as Murphy Girl is to rebel. I recently asked her to go throw some dirty clothes in the laundry room, and she took it upon herself to LOAD THE WASHING MACHINE with all of the kids' clothes just to 'help Mommy.' She loves to 'babysit' Baby Wright and cheers Murphy on in her potty endeavor with every drop of tinkle that hits the potty. I've tried to be conscientious in carving out one on one time with her and love our little conversations. She poses interesting questions, 'If God can do anything, can't He fix my bike?' and keeps me on my toes. She's a little Mommy for sure, and I often have to remind her to just worry about herself and let me be the Mommy. She is happiest when she is outdoors... whether wading in a creek or climbing a tree or digging in the dirt {wearing a twirly skirt, of course} and was the first to notice the budding of the trees as being an early sign of spring. I really miss her when she's not around even for a short period of time. I am loving how our mother-daughter relationship is already evolving into a friendship, too. 
   
7. An Wedding of Epic Proportions...when Lindsay and I got married in 2006, he was the first of the Wachovia crew to tie the knot. Since that day, we've attended the weddings of most of our groomsmen and have loved being a part of each of their celebrations. Over Easter weekend, we traveled to Dallas (minus the big girls, but Baby Wright tagged along) to witness the union of Pratik and Amy. To simply call this event a wedding just doesn't seem right. The bride, groom, and their families created a weekend full of fun in an atmosphere of excitement and bliss. The decor, the food, the drinks, the band... every detail was top-notch. Lindsay and I also noticed how the culture of the Indian wedding felt so much more like a true union between two families than traditional American weddings. We loved dressing up in our fanciest garb and catching up with folks who we rarely get to see all while celebrating the special couple.
   
   The Sangeet was a treat for the visual senses.
   
   There was dancing in the streets. 
   Literally.
   
   The Newlyweds.
   
   A quick selfie during the ceremony.
   
   Me at my most fancy.
   Black-tie for the reception.

So, I guess while I haven't been doing much blogging lately, I have been living a whole lot of sweet, sweet life. These entries always serve as a reminder to count our blessings.
They are abundant for sure.

By the Numbers

Friday night, 6:30 PM. While I have no doubt that folks all around the city were engaging in all sorts of fun activites (or, more likely, getting dressed and pre-gaming before such activities), I was enjoying the peace and quiet of the house thanks to Daddy taking the big girls on a Daddy-Daughter-Double-Date. (Actually, that's probably not the right term given that there's only one of him... A Polygamist-Daddy-Daughter-Date? No, that can't be right... But I digress.) I was using my time alone in the house to chat with Baby Wright (it's funny that I now feel alone when only with one child) and fold a heaping stack of the girls' laundry.

My happy helper.

At the risk of being outed as a giant nerd, I'll admit a little known tidbit of personal information: I really enjoy math. I picked up an algebra book for fun (really) a year or two ago, and it's not unusual that I fill my mind with numerical thought patterns.
So while working my way through the basket, I began doing a bit of mental math:

7 days a week x 1 outfit a day 

+ 1 pair of jammer a day [- Carter who doesn't wear jammers]

[+ Baby Wright's clothes' changes thanks to bodily fluids] [+ Carter's fashion conscious changes]

x 3 children 

=

A HECK OF A LOT OF LAUNDRY

This mathematical thought train then continued down a path of numerating my work-week as a whole. What I came up with looks something like this...

27} number of times I nursed Baby Wright.

5} number of lunches I packed. 

34} age Lindsay turned on Wednesday.

35} age I will be four months from today.

24} age we both were when we met.

6} number of times I heard an unsolicited 'I love you, Mommy.'

50} number of diapers I changed (Murphy seriously needs to get on the potty bandwagon!)

3} number of those diapers that leaked poop onto my lap.

5} number of days this week the girls argued about whose turn it was to choose a show.

5} number of days they argued about who would sit in the pink seat.

5} number of days they argued about who would should pray before eating.

5} number of days they argued about (I'm guessing I've made my point.)

10.15} number of pounds Baby Wright weighed at her four month check-up.

12.13} number of pounds Murphy weighed at the same age.

13.7} number of pounds Carter weighed. (Shocked to discover this about my tiny one!)

3} number of Cokes I've had today since I vowed to give them up.

1.5} number of hours I was successful at keeping the vow.

5} number of days I thought about exercising.

0} number of days I actually did it. (There's always next week.)

As for that heaping stack of laundry, it turned out to be

65 individual articles of clothing + 2 baby hats + 6 pairs of socks + 8 leftover socks

{But, who's counting?}

No Regrets

For the most part, people are pretty free with advice giving. All you really have to do is bring up a conundrum on virtually any subject to most any person, and advice on said dilemma will be shared. Some advice is welcome and requested; some is welcome though not requested; and some (a lot when it comes to certain topics or certain advice-givers) is neither welcome nor requested.

Just as the advice varies, so does what we choose to do with the advice. Will it just go in one ear and out the other? {Like when someone told me that holding my sleeping newborn would spoil her and create a bad sleeper.} Will we give it a half hearted try? {Like the advice I was given to do a load of laundry every night.} Will we both try it and share it with others? {Can't tell enough people about the healing power of breast milk on pink eye!} 

Over ten years ago, I was given a piece of advice that I not only used (and shared), but I have thought of many times since and extended its use far beyond the subject matter for which it was given. The scenario was simple and so was the advice: I was debating whether or not to go the gym one afternoon, and my friend said, 'You never regret working out.' She was right. I hadn't ever left the gym and thought, 'Man, I wish I hadn't done that.' But many, many, many times I'd gotten to the end of a day and wished I had made my way to the gym. That advice lead me to drag my lazy booty into the gym many times when motivation wasn't coming easy.

Many years later, that simple piece of advice has reached far beyond my friend's intentions. I think of the words, 'You'll never regret' quite often, but I complete the phrase and am prompted to action in a variety of ways.

You'll I'll never regret... 

• Blogging.
• Snuggling.
• Slowing down.
• Drinking water.
• Going to church.
• Biting my tongue.
• Practicing patience.
• Holding on to a hug.
• Making a new friend.
• Teaching. Guiding. Learning.
• Reading an extra bedtime story.
• Listening. Helping. Encouraging.
• Taking my shower before the girls get up.
• Putting on lip gloss. Curling my eyelashes.
• Packing lunches at night. Laying out clothes.
• Praying. Talking to God and listening for His voice. 
• Saying 'I made a mistake' or 'I'm sorry' or 'I'm proud of you' or 'I love you.' 

And, yes, working out. 

It's funny. 

Many of the items listed above were realized because of times when I did not do them. 

{I've often wished I'd held that hug a little longer.}

The advice was simple; its implication, great. 

Tuesday Tidings

I've spent much of today making a To-Do list and very little time doing anything on said list. By nature, I just feel more at peace when life is in order; and by life, I mean everything from closets to schedules to correspondence. Lately, though, nothing is actually in order, so my list is mostly composed of ways to organize the things to do. (Is anyone following what I'm saying?) In other words, my To-Do list doesn't say 'Exercise'; it says 'Make a Schedule for Exercising.' And instead of  'Cook Dinner'; it says 'Create a Weekly Meal Plan' and so on... Nowhere on this list is blogging mentioned, but because writing also makes me feel at peace, I decided to forgo the list entirely and opt for the quick fix.
Speaking of meal planning... curious as to what's cooking at my house? You'll find a boiling pot of this on my stove at some point most every day:

Once the meal planning-plan is complete, this pot will contain food.

Until then, Baby Wright will have the most sterile pacies in town.

Murphy often steals my phone and uses the voice dictation feature for typing. Today she sent my mom a text that simply read: 

Hello. I'm black.

Carter is learning to read; this both excites me and tries my patience. After correctly reading the site word 'has' at least ten times, she came to it and began sounding it out phonetically:

H-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-s-s-s-s-s-s
only to look up at me and emphatically conclude, Dog! 

A cousin by relation and a dear friend by choice hopped on a plane with her four month old little love in tow and visited over the holiday weekend. I did actually use my stove for something other than paci cooking, and we enjoying noshing and wine-ing together while loving on the babes. We opined on important topics such as choosing between bangs or Botox and whether or not the consumption of non-organic meat will cause our girlies to sprout boobies in Pre-K. She did not arrive empty-handed and gifted Wright with my absolute most favorite baby gift. Ever.

Precious, right?

Now, take a close look at that right bootie...

It's inscribed with Wright in MY handwriting!

And, the left, with her middle name, Genevieve,

again in Mommy's handwriting. 

What a precious keepsake, and I've never seen those feet look so darn adorable. A thousand thank yous to you, Kyndal, (and to you, too, Kacia!) 

Remember that time our Mommies had a little vino

and wanted to take our picture? Yea, we rocked that pose.

Back to my list... which, now that I think about it, is really more of a 'How-To-Do List' than a 'To-Do-List.'

Monday Musings

Baby Wright is two and a half months old and is consistently sleeping a minimum of 8 hours straight each night. (She actually pulled a crazy-long 12 hour shift one night!) This coupled with bright, sunny days (current day excluded), school being back in session, and an overall 'good' feeling has been just the combination to lead to this exuberant declaration... the fog is lifting! And, in honor of this significant milestone here in Newbornland, I've decided a little random, stream of consciousness blog is in order.
A new Disney princess, Princess Sophia, has come on the kid scene. We have the inaugural movie on our DVR list, and the girls have watched it several times since it premiered in early November. Like most kid shows, I tend let it fade into the background and generally tune it out as much as possible whenever it's on. Yesterday, though, I caught a scene in which Cinderella, the mentor princess, was giving Sophia a little advice on all things princess. She relayed to Sophia that she made a big mistake by not befriending her own step-sisters, suggesting that they could have been 'best friends' and 'forever sisters.'

If you need a little princess refresher, she was referring to the evil gals who taunted her mercilessly, forced her to perform manual labor, and tried to keep her from her prince charming!
As I heard her little spiel (in the form of a cheesy song), I was reminded of how ridiculously rose-colored we try to paint life for children these days. I see Cinderella's point and, of course, I encourage our girls to get along with everyone. But my word, Cinderella! have some respect for yourself! Those witches didn't deserve your friendship and certainly not your sisterhood!
In a society where bullying (sadly I've even seen it with preschoolers) seems to be evermore prominent, I'd prefer a princess with a message of self-worth and dignity. I also think that a little (soft) dose of reality can't hurt even at a young age. The earlier we can get our own little princess(es) to realize that not everybody is going to like her and not everybody is going to be nice to her and not everybody will want to be her friend, the better.
Last night Lindsay and I left all three girlies with our sitter for the first time went to see Silver Linings Playbook. The movie was fantastic (Lindsay placed it in the top two of all movies he's seen in the past couple years), and I'd highly recommend seeing it while it's still in theaters. I was a bit distracted during the film, though, as Lindsay and I had a continuing, whispered argument as to the hotness quotient of Jennifer Lawrence. In short: his tongue was basically wagging, and I just don't see it. We did not engage in a similar discuss surrounding Bradley Cooper's level of attractiveness (as if an argument could even be made...)

Hot.

Not. 

(My blog. My opinion.)

As for tangible signs that the fog actually IS lifting, last week I BOUGHT A BOOK, an actual book that has nothing to do with babies or breast-feeding or strong-willed children or site words. I plan to read this book (Atonement) in my free-time (not a typo) after all three girls are tucked-in in the evenings. I also threw my hat back into the Words With Friends ring. Not only do I have a little time to play, but I am also finally feeling like my brain may actually be able to function on a level beyond that of pure survival. 

Better skedaddle... the biggest sister's show is wrapping up; Murphy in the Middle is ready to get up from her nap; and Baby Girl is ready to eat again. The evening will consist of goulash and corn on the cob for Monday family dinner, and a Honey Boo Boo special after the girlies are in bed for the night. 

Ahhh, I'm rejoining the land of the living...

The Sweetest Things, Q4

A couple points to get out before beginning... {1} I've never been totally happy with the title (The Non-Thing Things) of this recurring post, so I've been toying with a few ideas. You may or may not see this one again. And, {2} the last time I stepped foot into this Starbucks, I walked out in labor and gave birth four hours later. Feels pretty, pretty weird to be here.
And speaking of the little one who began to show signs in this very place of her impending appearance, I have to give her a great big Whoopie! for giving Mommy a 10 hour stretch of sleep on Sunday night followed by an 8 1/2 hour stretch last night (and I realize that by simply typing that, I'm pretty much guaranteed to be feeding her every three hours tonight.) I'm sitting here on this Tuesday afternoon having showered, dried (and flat-ironed!) my hair, applied make-up, and crossed five items off my to-do list (no need to mention how many items it contains.) Better get to bloggin' before I crash from the largest burst I've energy I've felt in six months!

The Sweetest Things in the Final Quarter of 2012...

1. Just Wright... how can the birth of our latest (and last barring some supernatural intervention) little love not top the list this quarter? It's hard to believe, really, that we've only known Baby Wright for ten weeks as it feels like I've been in love with her forever. As babies go, she really is the cream of the crop. She cries so infrequently, that I can barely conjure a mental sound of her cry, and just thinking of her precious smile can bring tears to my eyes. It's not just me who feels this amazing love for our itty-bitty, both her Daddy and Sister Bears are equally smitten. It blows my mind that we were a family before she came into our lives as her addition has truly felt as if we've located a missing piece to the puzzle. 
2. Miss Congeniality...Carter has always been a bit of a social butterfly, but that butterfly has seriously spread her wings over these past few months. It's been such a joy watching her integrate into a new city and a new school with such ease, and she quickly acquired a much busier social calendar than I. At times I actually worry about her being so friendly since she thinks nothing of rolling down her window at stoplights to say a quick 'hello' to neighboring drivers or of standing on the front porch and shouting pleasantries to passersby. As of late, her manners have also made this Mommy quite proud. 'Yes Ma'am' flies frequently from her mouth as does 'Excuse me' and 'May I please...' By no means is she perfect - current challenges include incessant, nails on a chalkboard-style whining and tattle-telling - but she's pretty darn terrific to this Mommy (and it goes without saying that she's the apple of Daddy's eye.) 
3. Southern Hospitality...prior to our move back to Charlotte, I'd been excited about returning to the culture of the South. As the move became more imminent, though, I wondered if I was idealizing the reality: would little girls really show up to preschool in darling smocked dresses? I'm happy to report that it's all I imagined and more (the first day of school was a sea of smocking!) I was so touched when the moms from Murphy's class put together a calendar for bringing meals to our family after Wright was born. These ladies didn't even know me or our family, yet they took the time to bring us tasty dinners (each complete with dessert) during a hectic season of life. Other moms have offered advice on everything from elementary schools to pediatricians to summer camps and welcomed Carter into their homes for playdates. And the kind gestures haven't been limited to just the Southern ladies. Though Lindsay has less time for socializing, two of his professional contacts have used business meetings as an opportunity to invite us to social events. Over the holiday season, we were added to Christmas card lists and fresh baked goodies were delivered to our door. Despite being the new folks in town, we've felt a warm, Southern welcome everywhere we've been. 
4. Quite the Character... I'm not sure there's a better word to describe the gal who, when asked, insists her name is 'Jelly Samich!'; Murphy is really, something. She turned two during the final quarter of 2012, and with that increase in age came an explosion of new language. She went from saying demanding screeching 'milky' when she wanted a cup of the white stuff, to sweetly voicing the entire phrase 'May I please have milky?' for the same request. (I so wish this post had audio because the way she dictates each word so precisely is just plain adorable.) The equally screeched 'UPY!' when she desired to be held (pretty much during any time that a normal person would be walking) has become 'May I have upy, please?' One of her longest sentence to-date came as she expressed her desire to drink from the sweet springs of Mommy-milk: 'Mur-Mur drinkin' Baby Wright's milky? Booby?' Her stubborn nature continues to be mind-boggling; a favorite new phrase is, 'My turn! I do it all myself! And, as eager as Carter is to please, Murphy is equally eager to portray an I-don't-give-a rat's-fanny-what-you-think attitude. Girlfriend spent over twenty minutes sitting and thinking (our version of time out) about getting her left shoe (she was already wearing the right one) out of the basket so that we could go to lunch. Once the entire family was loaded up in the car, ready to pull out of the garage, she hopped up, found the shoe, and put it on while muttering 'Silly me!' to herself. As I said, a character. 
5. Fallin' in Love...here's the thing, and I know you moms will get this, there's just something about watching your husband love fall in love with your children that makes you fall even more in love with him. As a Mommy to three darling daughters, I get to experience this triple-fold. Lindsay and Carter are kindred spirits in so many ways, and watching them bond over Batman or work on a drawing projects together makes me feel all fuzzy inside. I never see that little girl's face more gleeful then when her Daddy pulls in the drive-way after a work week. He is equally smitten with our Murphy in the Middle and has even admitted that her pretty face hides a multitude of sins in his eyes. And, now, our sweet little Wright has taken another piece of Daddy's heart. Like me, he can't get enough of her and has been soaking-in each sweet newborn snuggle. Additionally, he has been superbly playing the role of Superdad! by doubling up on diaper and burping and swaddling duty since the feeding duty is falling solely on Mommy's shoulders. His willingness to help where needed and to recognize when I've needed rest, especially during Wright's first few weeks, has been such a help. I'm not trying to say that our relationship while in the trenches of Newbornland has been all cupids and rainbows, but I can say that this variety of fallin in love infinitely surpasses the flutters that first appeared nearly ten years ago. 

When Lindsay and I were introduced as Mr. and Mrs. at our wedding reception almost seven years ago,  we chose U2's The Sweetest Thing as our entry song. On that day, I had no idea what the years would bring or how that magical day was just a precursor to years and years of even Sweeter Things. As always, writing this particular post reminds me of just how wonderful life is in Lewellen house.